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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/30129204">The Owl and the Pussycat</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/mrygm/pseuds/mrygm'>mrygm</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Labyrinth (1986), The Owl and the Pussycat - Edward Lear</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Adult Sarah Williams (Labyrinth), Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/M, Fairy Tale Elements, Fluff and Angst, Inspired by Poetry, Melancholy, Poetry, Running Away, Shapeshifting</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-03-19</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-04-18</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-16 02:55:57</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Major Character Death</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>16,917</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/30129204</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/mrygm/pseuds/mrygm</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>It's been fifteen years since Sarah ran the Labyrinth, but when she turned eighteen and moved from her family home, those memories started to fade.</p>
<p>Now an adult, teaching literature at a top college in New York, Sarah comes across a poem that gives her pause. She wakes up from impossible dreams night after night, ones where an old adversary appears. He's always been frightening, but...</p>
<p>Was he always so very handsome?</p>
<p>...</p>
<p>An owl soars over the Labyrinth, in search of prey on which to take out his very awful mood. His parents are forcing him to marry, and the thought makes him want to run. Far, <em>far</em> away. But... Killing something will do just as well.</p>
<p>A pair of eyes flash in the dark, something unwelcome prowling through his domain. He swoops in for the kill, only to be met with a pair of intense green eyes that bore through his very soul. And sharp teeth and claws that dig through his tender flesh...</p>
<p>The only felines native to the Underground are saber-toothed and monstrous. So where on Earth had this hell-cat come from?</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Jareth/Sarah Williams</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>8</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>48</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>This came to me in bed one night and would not leave me alone. I remembered the poem from childhood, one of my favourites, and it occurred to me that it reminded me of my beloved Jareth and Sarah. Two souls so different, but inexorably drawn together.</p>
<p>I'm sure I'm not the only one who made this connection, but since I'll not be able to edit one more word of my other fics and OF until I get this out of my head, I figured I'd get it over with and just write the damned first chapter already. Prove to myself I can do <em>short</em> stories after all... lol.</p>
<p>I do hope you enjoy it, and please do leave me a comment &lt;3  - MRYGM</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>The Owl and the Pussy-cat went to sea,<br/>
In a beautiful pea-green boat.<br/>
They took some honey, and plenty of money,<br/>
Wrapped up in a five pound note.<br/>
The owl looked up to the stars above,<br/>
And sang to a small guitar,<br/>
‘O lovely Pussy,<br/>
O Pussy, my love,<br/>
What a beautiful Pussy you are,<br/>
You are,<br/>
You are!<br/>
What a beautiful Pussy you are!’</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Edward Lear</em>
</p>
<p>~&amp;~ ~&amp;~ ~&amp;~</p>
<p>Sarah ran her hands across the line of books on the shelf, searching for something, but she didn’t know what.</p>
<p>She breathed in the smell of them, isle upon isle of vellum and leather, the dust in the air almost too thick. The library was one of her favourite places, story upon story just waiting to be discovered. And as an actor, and a teacher, an artist even, she couldn’t get enough stories.</p>
<p>Her arms were already full with volumes, but she felt as if something was missing. This week’s lectures were all about poetry, and she wanted something fresh for her students. Something fun. Something with a hidden meaning.</p>
<p>As she ran her hand down the row, it suddenly caught. She turned to see that a book was sticking out by a quarter inch. Head cocked to the side, she read the spine:</p>
<p>
  <em>The Complete Nonsense of Edward Lear</em>
</p>
<p>With a smile, she pulled it out and added it to the already heavy pile in her arms.</p>
<p>~&amp;~ ~&amp;~ ~&amp;~</p>
<p>‘Hullo, Doctor Williams! Working a Saturday again I see?’</p>
<p>The Librarian, Sue, greeted her with a warm smile as she dumped the pile of tomes on the counter.</p>
<p>‘Afternoon, Suz, and yes. I have a lot to do before Monday morning’s symposium, and my lectures. Late nights for me...’</p>
<p>Sarah smiled. At thirty she was the youngest lecturer on campus, also the only one who was unmarried. She taught English Literature, ran the drama club, and gave an evening class in portraiture on Wednesdays. Evidently, she was also the hardest working professor on campus too, something her colleagues both admired about her and mercilessly teased her for.</p>
<p>‘Aah, Edward Lear!? I do so love his limericks!’ smiled Sue as she logged each book and placed them in a bag for Sarah to carry.</p>
<p>‘I hope my students like him just as much.’ replied Sarah as she picked up the bag, blanching at the sheer weight of it. With a rueful smile, she left the library, heading straight for her office and coffee.</p>
<p>~&amp;~ ~&amp;~ ~&amp;~</p>
<p>The rain thundered against the windows of the two hundred year old building, giving Sarah’s lecture a moody backdrop of sound.</p>
<p>It was nearly the end of the day, for her students at least, and she could see them flagging in their chairs, Lord Byron and Shakespeare still rattling around in their heads she had no doubt.</p>
<p>‘For tomorrow I would like you all to choose a poem, any poem, as long as it was first published in English. You will all be giving a reading, and then a short analysis. And Parker, I mean <em>short.</em>Three hundred words maximum, <em>not</em> three thousand.’</p>
<p>Sarah smiled as she said it and everyone laughed. Parker Jackson, a blonde girl three rows up, blushed hotly as she grinned in response, hiding her face behind a textbook.</p>
<p>‘Now before you all go, tomorrow we’re moving onto nonsense poetry, focusing on Edward Lear. I thought we could all use a break from sonnets.’ </p>
<p>Laughter again. She brandished the book, as if it was a weapon.</p>
<p>‘Oh, read us one, Dr Wills! There's still two minutes...’ cried a girl from the front row. Evelyn Tyton. A murmur of assent rang out. They loved it when she read for them, always admiring her use of metre and accent. </p>
<p>‘Very well…’ she sighed but was pleased whenever they asked her to recite plays or poetry. Half were in the Drama Club too, and her colleagues joked that she had a little following of students that worshipped her like a goddess.</p>
<p>She opened the book, the page falling open to a poem called <em>The Owl and the Pussy-cat.</em></p>
<p>
  <em>Owl…?</em>
</p>
<p>Unbidden, an image flared in her mind of a white barn owl flying towards her. Then, a shock of blonde hair. Mismatched eyes. A knowing smirk...</p>
<p>It died away almost instantly and she shook her head slightly, clearing her throat as she looked down at the page. She really did need an early night at some point.</p>
<p>‘The Owl and the Pussy-cat went to sea, in a beautiful pea-green boat…’</p>
<p>~&amp;~ ~&amp;~ ~&amp;~</p>
<p>A glass of rosè in hand, Sarah marked the last of the assignments she’d spent most of the evening on, and sat back in her chair. </p>
<p>Her back throbbed, so she kneaded the place at the bottom of her spine, pushing out the tension there. She got up and stretched, going to the fridge to see what she had in, realising that she’d forgotten to eat. <em>Again</em>.</p>
<p>Sitting down with another glass of wine and a plate of last night’s Chinese, she picked up the book of nonsense poetry.</p>
<p>She flicked through it, chuckling at the imagery and the rhyming stanzas, making mental notes here and there about context and underlying meanings. She was meant to be relaxing after all, not working.</p>
<p>But, for some reason, she kept flicking back to <em>The Owl and the Pussycat</em>, her eyes scanning across the words for the tenth time, now unseeing as they were memorized. It was a child’s story, simple and pretty, but something about it bothered her.</p>
<p>She placed her hand to the space between her eyes and squeezed them together against the headache that throbbed there. Sleep was what she needed, so she snapped the book shut. </p>
<p>Finishing off the last bit of her dinner, she tidied up, then padded through to her bedroom, yawning as she slipped between the sheets.</p>
<p>As sleep started to creep into the edges of her conscious mind, she sighed back against the pillow. </p>
<p>A vision of her dressed in a black catsuit came swirling into her mind, dancing with a man who wore a white cape that looked like feathers, on the edge of a moonlit shore, all the colours bleeding into each other, his laughter ringing through the night as he twirled her into his arms…</p>
<p>‘If only it was true…’ she whispered to herself, sleepily.</p>
<p>And then she was sound asleep.</p>
<p>~&amp;~ ~&amp;~ ~&amp;~</p>
<p>The full moon lit up the peaceful face of Sarah Williams, as the clock in the hall struck midnight, cool tendrils of light caressing her like a lover.</p>
<p>
  <em>The Witching Hour had come.</em>
</p>
<p>An antique floor length mirror was standing to one side of the window, one of Sarah’s most prized possessions. It had been a gift from the faculty when she’d earned her doctorate.</p>
<p>Since leaving home, her extraordinary experience in the Labyrinth had begun to fade, and she wasn’t even sure if it had really happened. Her friends had visited her often to start with, but as she grew up, they had spoken to her less and less, and after she left for college, she had not been able to contact them again.</p>
<p>She’d put it down to childhood whimsy and a fear of growing up. It must all have been just a wonderful dream. Even <em>him</em>.</p>
<p><em>Especially</em> him.</p>
<p>With an electric snap, and a burst of something in the air, Sarah disappeared from her bed. Something writhed beneath the covers, a large black cat with bright green eyes emerging from them.</p>
<p>It blinked. Once. Twice. Staring toward the light coming through the gap in the curtains.</p>
<p>The mirror shimmered then, the reflection turning to an image instead. An image too fantastic to come from the Above.</p>
<p>Night was waning over the Labyrinth, the castle lights just visible in the distance. Torches lit up the meandering trail of stone as morning bled into the edges of darkness.</p>
<p>The cat stared into the mirror for a long moment, head cocked to one side as if in thought.</p>
<p>Then it hunkered to the floor, about to pounce, and, in one dexterous leap, the cat was gone.</p>
<p>Once again the mirror reflected a room. One which was occupied by nothing but the pale moonlight...</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Hi all, so here's chapter 2, hope you're enjoying this as much as I'm enjoying writing it. I want it to be as whimsical as the poem is.</p>
<p>Let me know what you think, I always enjoy your comments exceedingly. Thank you all for the Kudos, you make me so happy &lt;3 &lt;3 &lt;3</p>
<p>Enjoy...</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em></em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Pussy said to the Owl, ‘You elegant fowl!<br/>
How charmingly sweet you sing!<br/>
O, let us be married! too long we have tarried:<br/>
But what shall we do for a ring?’<br/>
They sailed away, for a year and a day,<br/>
To the land where the Bong-Tree grows.<br/>
And there in a wood a Piggy-Wig stood,<br/>
With a ring at the end of his nose,<br/>
His nose,<br/>
His nose,<br/>
With a ring at the end of his nose.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em></em>
</p>
<p>- Edward Lear</p>
<p>~&amp;~ ~&amp;~ ~&amp;~</p>
<p>The owl circled high above the Labyrinth, searching for something to rip apart. He was angry… nay, he was furious.</p>
<p>Still reeling from that conversation with his father, Jareth had flown into the dawn, his favourite time to hunt. His keen eyesight and incredible hearing focused on the shadows as he flew, searching for anything unlucky enough to look back. Or do something as innocuous as <em>move</em>.</p>
<p>He settled on an eddy, the winds caressing his light, avian body, holding him in the sky with very little effort on his part. It was relaxing, and he slowly started to calm down. Though his thoughts inexorably turned back to that conversation.</p>
<p>
  <em>‘Jareth, we’re not immortal.’ said Oberon, King of the Fae. ‘Long lived? Sure, but some day, your mother and I will be gone, and you will be ruler of this land. As my son, you must take a wife, and produce an heir. And soon. If you do not, your half siblings will clamour at your heels, and I do not wish for the kingdom to fall to those rabid bastards.’</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>‘They’re also your children, father.’ said Jareth, taking a long sip of wine. ‘I’d quite happily let one of them take the burden off my shoulders. How about Morrigan? She’s powerful, she’ll do the throne proud…’</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Jareth laughed mirthlessly as he watched his father fume.</em>
</p>
<p><em>‘No.</em> You<em> are heir to the throne, my boy, and you will do your duty whether you like it or not! Lady Sylvania is our choice for your bride. She will be here in three days to make introductions.’</em></p>
<p>
  <em>‘And now, you’re forcing a bride on me? And you wonder why I want nothing to do with the Throne. My place is here, in the Labyrinth. A duty you forced on me as well, if memory serves. To “teach me responsibility”, I believe was how you put it.’</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Jareth stared down at the shorter man, who looked to be in his mid forties, his long salt and pepper hair tied back, his bushy beard stuck out as he set his jaw against his son. In truth he was nearly two thousand years old. He wagged a finger at Jareth.</em>
</p>
<p><em>‘Oh, don’t think I’m shuffling off this mortal coil any time soon, Jareth, but it’s time you started looking to the future. You’ve done a fine job of running this place, but it was never meant to be permanent. And didn’t you allow a mortal girl to beat you once? The word</em> love<em> was thrown around too, if my memory serves?’</em></p>
<p><em>Jareth paled for a second. He hadn’t thought of that day in ages, though a pair of defiant green eyes had haunted his dreams every night since. She’d been pretty, </em>so<em> pretty. So </em>resolved<em>. If only things had not ended the way they had...</em></p>
<p>
  <em>‘And what of it?’ snarled Jareth, turning away so his father didn’t see the colour rise to his cheeks. ‘If you want to force a courtship on me, fine, but I choose who I marry. You don’t get to take that away from me.’</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Oberon pursed his lips. He knew Jareth would procrastinate forever if he gave him even the smallest wiggle room.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>‘I’ll give you until the next full moon, Jareth, and I’m still sending Lady Sylvania over. You’re not going to wriggle out of this.’</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>‘What!? How am I meant to find a bride if you lump me with some pampered princess to watch over for the next twenty nine days?’ Jareth’s hands fisted as the reality of his situation started to sink in and he felt both numb and incensed.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>‘She’ll only be here for a couple of weeks. And with your ability to play with time, my son, you could easily turn a month into three. Acting so hard done to is unbecoming. You’re a Prince of the realm, and a ruling monarch of this godsforsaken land, so start acting like the king you are and less like a spoilt, privileged brat!’</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>And with that, Oberon was gone, leaving his son to seethe all by himself. </em>
</p>
<p>~&amp;~ ~&amp;~ ~&amp;~</p>
<p>Anger flared in Jareth’s tiny, owl breast again, and he banked lower, skimming over the canopy of trees in the forest, knowing there was always a rabbit or a mouse lurking somewhere in the underbrush.</p>
<p>As the edge of the sun poked over the horizon, he’d cleared the forest, and was flying over stone walls again.</p>
<p>Something caught his eye then, a flash of eyes on top of a wall. Glowing orbs that appeared and disappeared as their owner moved brazenly across the winding walls of his Labyrinth.</p>
<p>He laughed to himself.</p>
<p>
  <em>Poor, unlucky creature.</em>
</p>
<p>A skilled predator, he put himself between the light of the rising sun and what he now realised was a jet black feline, skulking along the top of the maze as if the Kingdom wasn’t awash with danger. As if the king of the realm wasn’t known for taking out anything brave enough to roam his domain in the dark of the night.</p>
<p>As he drew level with the creature, honed in for the kill, it turned to him, eyes visibly widening as he collided with it, sharp claws digging into its flesh, as he pulled it into the air with him, a surprised and fearful shriek coming from it.</p>
<p><em>Those eyes though?</em> It had sharp, green orbs, with wide, long pupils. </p>
<p>So<em> familiar. </em></p>
<p>He realised that it was a house cat, native to the Above. Felines only came in one variety here in the Underground, and they were monstrous and Sabretoothed. How had it even managed to get here? Wished away? </p>
<p>No, he would have felt it.</p>
<p>No matter, it would be his dinner soon. He didn’t normally eat his kills, his Fae biology finding the idea revolting, but today he’d allow the owl in him a rare treat. Perhaps that would slake his raging bloodlust for a while?</p>
<p>Then there was pain, as sharp claws and teeth sunk into him, his prey writhing as he instinctively let it go. The creature fell the twenty feet or so to the roof of a house in the Goblin City, landing smartly on its feet, hissing up at him, before disappearing down the side of the roof.</p>
<p>
  <em>Oh no you don’t!</em>
</p>
<p>Unwilling to allow his prey to escape, his need for catharsis turning from simply killing something, to hunting an adversary, he came back around and sped over the rooftops. Could hear the quiet padding, the movement of something over sand and gravel, spotting the creature slinking through the shadows then.</p>
<p>It’s eyes, no, <em>her</em> eyes, he realised, flashed in the dark, as she looked around, an error that would prove fatal if he had his way. Not that he needed his eyesight to hunt, but he liked to see his prey just the same. Enjoying himself, head focused completely on the hunt, he flew in low, just as she emerged from the dark.</p>
<p>But, in his single mindedness, Jareth misjudged how close he was to the ground, and instead of grabbing his prey, he flew straight into her, sending them flying in a flurry of limbs and feathers, a surprised scream from both of them as they went tumbling over and over through the dust and sand.</p>
<p>He ended up with the cat pinning him down by his wings, hissing in his face, avoiding his bone crushing talons as he lashed out. Her green eyes glowed in the dark as she dug her claws to him. He stopped struggling, mesmerised as he looked up at her.</p>
<p><em>What… </em>who<em> are you?</em></p>
<p>Just as he was about to switch to his normal form, to his surprise, she let him go. With a hissing screech, she vanished into the night, and Jareth took off again, mystified as to what had just happened.</p>
<p>In a minute he’d alighted on his balcony, just as the sun crested the top of the Labyrinth, bathing him in morning light.</p>
<p>~&amp;~ ~&amp;~ ~&amp;~</p>
<p>Sarah felt strange as she padded through the darkness, able to see everything in the low light, the world turning to a weird mix of dull greens and blues as she wandered through the Labyrinth.</p>
<p>She realised she had to be dreaming, there was no other explanation, but everything felt oddly real, as if she really was a cat. She could smell things that had once just been a whiff, as if all the notes that made up the scent were somehow separated, and she could identify all of them. </p>
<p>The Labyrinth mainly stunk of magic, a pungent smell that was metallic, but also sweet, and kind of floral too. Cheesy. Yes, like stinky cheese. She knew what it was almost instinctively, as if her very life depended on it.</p>
<p>Then there were goblins, their musk strong, and their ale stronger. Rats, and cockroaches and the smell of plants and lichen, putrefaction too. Something had died here some days ago. The scent of roses was heady too, wafting in from where they grew on the outer walls.</p>
<p>Wanting to get away from the, frankly, horrifying mix of odour, Sarah leapt to the top of the wall, the edge of morning setting the castle at the centre in sharp relief.</p>
<p>She felt a pang then, a need to go towards it. Her memory had become like water, sloshing about in her mind, every time she would try to get a hold of it, it would slip through, and she realised that she was only vaguely aware of who she really was.</p>
<p>Minutes ticked by as she leapt from one wall to the next, testing her feline capabilities, keeping to the shadows as much as she could. She knew there was a bird of prey not far away. </p>
<p>She could smell him on the wind.</p>
<p>
  <em>Him</em>
</p>
<p>She stood on the wall, looking into the rising sun, trying to remember who <em>he</em> was. Not just an owl… something else, his scent so <em>very</em> enticing. Then a shadow came flying out of the light, and before she knew it, something large, with wings had slammed into her.</p>
<p>For a second she was unable to move, completely shocked, fast moving air whipping through her fur. But then some instinct kicked in, and she fought against what felt like strips of metal winding  around her middle, crushing the air from her. </p>
<p>His talons were long and sharp, and somehow he’d got hold of her by her by the skin of her belly, sharp points digging into her flesh. They were practically face to face, and she writhed until she could sink her teeth and claws into his snowy breast.</p>
<p>The owl flinched in surprise and let her go. She twisted in the air as she fell, then hit a clay roof on her feet, her feline reflexes working perfectly. Hissing toward the retreating shadow, she leapt across the roof, and down into the shadow of the house.</p>
<p>
  <em>Home.</em>
</p>
<p>She frantically searched for a way out of the Goblin City without going through the Labyrinth. Or over it. All she wanted was to get home, but once again, she was trapped.</p>
<p>Keeping to the shadows, she ran through the city, but she knew she would have to cross over at some point. And she knew he was out there, searching for her. She scanned the air above but saw nothing.</p>
<p>Finding the most narrow space between two houses, she made a break for it. Without warning, something heavy slammed into her as it hit the floor, tawny-white feathers, dust and sand flying up as they rolled across the floor.</p>
<p>Snarling in anger, Sarah dug her claws into his wings as she held him down, noting where she had drawn blood on his breast, his talons too far away as she looked into his upside down face.</p>
<p>As she watched, his golden eyes turned blue, and he ceased his struggling, to stare at her as if in recognition, and that's when a name came to her…</p>
<p>
  <em>Jareth.</em>
</p>
<p>She let him go with a cry, and ran back into the shadows, this time heading in the opposite direction. For some reason, she had to get to the castle.</p>
<p>And to the Goblin King.</p>
<p>~&amp;~ ~&amp;~ ~&amp;~</p>
<p>‘Nasty, feisty little hell-beast!’ growled Jareth as he pulled his wrecked white shirt over his head, and tossed it to his side, examining the damage in a mirror.</p>
<p>Deep scratch marks arched across his porcelain chest, much bigger since he’d changed back into his original form. That was one downside of being injured as an owl, the damage was exponential once he was Fae again. He gently pressed his fingers to the scratches, they stung horribly.</p>
<p>He hissed as he used his magic, healing the deep, bleeding wounds. He’d read that Fairfolk were scared of cats for this very reason, the wounds they could inflict took a lot of power to heal, would fester if not dealt with quickly, a legend that they held their own magic a popular one among his people. Cats were said to escort souls to the Underworld, even those of the Fae.</p>
<p>As the wounds faded, Jareth felt worn out. It had been a long night and he didn’t remember the last time he’d eaten anything. Without even getting undressed, he crawled onto the bed and was asleep as soon as his head touched the pillow.</p>
<p>~&amp;~ ~&amp;~ ~&amp;~</p>
<p>She found Jareth passed out, having seen where he’d entered the tower and tracked him there, the rough, sheer stone a challenge, but not impossible to scale.</p>
<p>The morning sun was bright against his pale skin, which moved up and down along with his breathing, slow and deep, clearly soundly asleep.</p>
<p>Sarah kept her eyes away from the rising ball of light, the brightness too much for her, but it shone from Jareth’s skin in shimmering rays, ones her human eyes would never see.</p>
<p>It gave her pause.</p>
<p>This wasn’t real, could not <em>be</em> real. And yet, here she was, and there <em>he</em> was. Doing something completely unremarkable like sleeping.</p>
<p>She stood on the edge of the stone balcony, her tail flicking from side to side, her head cocked as she watched him. She remembered him now, fragments of memory coming back to her. He’d been mean, and  menacing, had taken pleasure in scaring her. But he’d also been... <em>compelling</em>. Frightening in a way that made her insides twist and squirm. </p>
<p>She’d feared him, and yet he’d awoken that first flush of longing in her. Longing for something that she’d only really understood the night that Teddy Banks had kissed her under the mistletoe. She’d been nearly seventeen. It was another year before they’d taken the next step, and she realised that it was that, and not college, that seemed to expel the whimsy from her life.</p>
<p>And she’d all but forgotten <em>him. </em></p>
<p>
  <em>The Goblin King.</em>
</p>
<p>He was laid on his side, his face resting on his hand, his amulet glinting against the covers. His hair was ordered chaos around his face, bits going off in all directions. She couldn’t believe how perfect his skin was, unblemished all the way down to his belly button, the finest trail of blonde hair leading away from it, into the grey trousers that were taut against his muscles, his knees almost curled up to his chest, his dusty black boots leaving a trail of muck on the rich, blue velvet.</p>
<p>She jumped from the window, landing silently on the floor. In a second, she was crouching on the bed. </p>
<p>Jareth stirred, but did not wake, frowning in his sleep, his mouth opening to reveal his pointed incisors. He let out a sigh, but was still deeply asleep.</p>
<p>She looked at him more closely, seeing the fine lines around his eyes and mouth, showing that he aged, or at least, he had, once. It had been more than a decade and he looked exactly the same.</p>
<p>But, had he always been so <em>beautiful?</em></p>
<p>Warmth radiated from him, and she felt drawn to it, and despite the obvious danger, she crawled forward, until she was curled up in the centre of the space his curled body created.</p>
<p>There was something very right about it, of being right there right then, as if she was somehow coming home.</p>
<p>As the sun rose higher in the sky, dawn fully broken, the owl and the pussycat were sound asleep. </p>
<p>
  <em>Together.<br/>
~&amp;~ ~&amp;~ ~&amp;~</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>The sound of water hitting wood, and the smell of the briny sea, bled into Jareth’s senses until he could no longer ignore them.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>He opened his eyes.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Stars were thick in the night sky, and as he stared upwards, he could make out constellations within constellations. But, they seemed to twist and warp, and he realised that the stars were moving, Orion throwing the North Star across to Ursa Major, who caught it and threw it to Sagitarius.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>He sat up abruptly, the rocking of the vessel he was in making him feel slightly queasy, the fittings of what appeared to be a yacht taking shape, the hull painted a green that was even bright in starlight.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>The sound of buzzing caught his attention, and he saw a beehive tied down to the glossy mahogany deck. Pots of wildflowers were scattered across the yacht, held on with some kind of rope, and he wondered who on earth would put a beehive on a boat.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>A small, metal box with a wheel on it was lashed to the bottom of the mast, and he realised that it was a tiny vault. A piece of paper with a currency symbol on it, along with the number five, was sticking out of the open door. The inside was bursting with coins, all bearing the profile of a queen.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>A small guitar was sitting on a pile of cushions on the bow of the yacht.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Jareth pulled himself to his feet, looking around. The sail above him shifted and creaked in the warm wind from the sea. Something white caught his eye, and he realised he was wearing the outfit with the cape that reminded one of feathers, the tendrils blowing in the breeze around him. The last time he’d worn it was the day of his defeat. He frowned, a nasty feeling in the pit of his stomach.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>‘Where am I?’</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>‘Sailing away…’ came a voice from behind him. </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>He turned to see a woman sitting by the rudder. She smiled and stood up, moving toward him gracefully. She was dressed in a skin tight black jumpsuit, her dark hair falling past her shoulders in soft waves, black gloves and boots completing her ensemble.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>He stared at her as she looked into his eyes. Her’s were the same green as the boat. His breath caught in his throat as he recognised her.</em>
</p>
<p><em></em>‘Sarah?’<em> he breathed. ‘Is that really you?’ </em></p>
<p>
  <em>‘Jareth’ she whispered, her ruby mouth curving into a sad smile. ‘And no, I don’t think this is real at all. Just a dream…’</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>‘A perfect dream…’ he answered, softly, a hand reaching out for her face. </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>She felt so very real, leaning into his caress, and for some strange reason, he pulled her to him, his mouth finding hers, as he kissed her, softly, hungrily, as if this was the only moment he wanted to live in, forever.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>And then the world fell away…</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>~&amp;~ ~&amp;~ ~&amp;~</p>
<p>An unfamiliar sound woke Jareth from his beautiful dream. </p>
<p>He opened his eyes, the edge of the sun just visible in the corner of the window as it rose above the castle. He tried to hang onto the dream, but even the memory started to fade, falling through his mind like sand through an hourglass.</p>
<p>One thing he could not forget though.</p>
<p>
  <em>Her</em>
</p>
<p>He could still see those gorgeous eyes staring into his, taste the sweet softness of her lips, feel her hair against his skin, the warmth of her. She was… <em>trembling.</em></p>
<p><em>Wait?</em> What…?</p>
<p>A strange, rhythmic hum had woken him, and something rumbled against his skin. A weight was pressed against the hand that was resting on the bed, and something black and furry and <em>warm</em>, was curled up against his chest, <em>purring</em> contentedly.
</p>
<p>Jareth held his breath.</p>
<p>He didn’t know what to do. If he woke the hell-beast, there was a chance it would scratch him up again. His heart thumped in his chest.</p>
<p>Wanting freedom, Jareth yanked his hand from under the cat, and rolled away from her, who sure enough startled awake from the sudden movement. He stared at it as the creature’s back arched as it hissed at him in fear, and then it was gone.</p>
<p>Wondering how in the hell it had even found its way into the castle, Jareth sat on the bed and looked around. A thump came from under the bed and he froze.</p>
<p>So <em>that’s</em> where she was...</p>
<p>Jareth bit his lip, looking at the clock. It was just after five am, so he’d been asleep less than an hour. His head throbbed, but he couldn’t exactly get a few more hours in the knowledge that some feline assassin was lurking underneath him.</p>
<p>The fact he was a lot bigger than she was, and able to wield magic, seemed an insignificant detail.</p>
<p>He shuffled to the edge of the bed, a mewling growl from underneath it said she was still there. Getting an idea, he formed a crystal, then dropped it on the floor, where it bounced and then turned into a ball of green yarn.</p>
<p> As he peered over the edge of the bed, a black paw reached out from under the bed, and swiped at the yarn, which just sent it bouncing away. The paw disappeared, and a head poked out from under the bed, a sleek body following as the cat watched the yarn bounce away.</p>
<p>But then she turned to look at him, making that mewling growl again as she stared at him with distrustful eyes. She disappeared again, thumping against the bed.</p>
<p>He couldn’t help but smile. She was curious, but smart. <em>Fascinating</em>, her green eyes compelling in their way. She reminded him of a pet rook he’d had as a child. That bird had been incredibly intelligent too.</p>
<p>Rubbing his chin, he decided to put a little skin into the game. Laying on his belly, he dipped his face below the bed, inky darkness greeting him as he raised the edges of the covers.</p>
<p>She made a noise of warning again, and he saw her eyes reflect in the darkness. He smirked.</p>
<p>‘I think you and I got off on the wrong foot.’ he said to the cat, as if it could understand him. The eyes blinked at him, a less angry sound coming from it now. ‘Why don’t you come out and we can start over.’</p>
<p>The growl she made sounded unconvinced, and he chuckled. He tossed another crystal to her, a ball of red yarn unraveling from it. He pulled it toward him, and to his delight, the cat followed it into the light. Claws catching at the yarn as he drew her out.</p>
<p>She hunkered down on the wood as he pulled the yarn away, placing it next to him on the bed. She stared at him for a second, then at the pile of wool.</p>
<p>He smiled.</p>
<p>‘You want it, don’t you?’ he grinned at the cat, her green eyes wide and untrusting, but the hunger was there, clear as day.</p>
<p>She pounced on the red yarn as if it was a small animal, happily shredding bits off of it. He laughed at her, bemused that he could find enjoyment in watching an animal play. He was also relieved her attention was gone from scratching and clawing at him.</p>
<p>It then occurred to him that he’d started their little war by trying to eat her in the first place. She seemed to mean him no harm at all. Just wanted a warm place to sleep it would seem. Though it was odd she’d scaled the castle wall to do it.</p>
<p>She was now rubbing along the side of his thigh as if trying to scratch an itch on the leather. He smiled wryly and pulled off his boots, laying back against the bed once more, getting more comfortable this time, his head sinking into a pillow.</p>
<p>The cat mewled and padded up to the pillow next to him, settling herself comfortably right in the middle of it.</p>
<p>‘Oh? Is that your side of the bed now?’ he raised an eyebrow, the cat giving him an enigmatic look, her purring starting again as she settled in, and closed her eyes.</p>
<p>He had to chuckle, amused and tired as he was. It appeared he now had a new friend.</p>
<p>But, when he next opened his eyes, she was gone.</p>
<p>~&amp;~ ~&amp;~ ~&amp;~</p>
<p>Some hours later, Sarah woke again, finding herself curled up on a pillow in an elaborate bedroom. She felt the need to leave, and quickly, the sound of someone breathing deeply, loud in her ears.</p>
<p>She crept past the Goblin King, pausing to look at him as he laid on his back, mouth wide open, snoring gently. She suppressed the urge to laugh, looking around for the nearest mirror.</p>
<p>One that looked uncannily like her own stood in a corner, and she approached, a vision of her room filling it.</p>
<p>In a moment she was through it, the scene of Jareth sound asleep fading almost immediately. With a strangely heavy heart, Sarah jumped up onto her bed, her own scent rather comforting.</p>
<p>In a moment, she was curled up again, sound asleep.</p>
<p>As the light of the sun Above stole through the gap in the curtains, it found a beautiful green eyed woman, sweetly dreaming of the owl she didn’t know she <em>loved.</em></p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I don't have a cat, so if there's any cute cat stuff you want to see just drop me a comment ;p</p>
<p>I've done quite a bit of research into Barn owls for this, and I was surprised that they don't hoot, but they do cry and shriek, and make some very interesting noises that can sound pretty creepy if you're out at night and there's one roosting nearby. Another random fact is that their ears are offset, so their hearing is so good they don't need their eyes to hunt. Cool, huh?</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter 3</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Hi all, sorry for how long it's taken me to update any of my fic, things are crazy right now, and I'm still getting to grips with crazy shift patterns again. Also, this is the last chapter of this fic, so it's taken me a long time to both write and get ready to post. </p><p>A few things I need to say about it:</p><p>I've upgraded the warnings to include a major character death. I hope you don't hate me too much.</p><p>The theme songs for this chapter are ‘Heart Skips a Beat’ by Olly Murs, as well as ‘If I'm Dreaming My Life’ and ‘Absolute Beginners’ by David Bowie.</p><p>This chapter contains a bit of a deep dive into Christian faith and rituals, from multiple points of view here, so if you're a bit sensitive to religion and magic overlapping, proceed with caution.</p><p>I'll see you on the other side. Enjoy!!!</p><p>And as always, thank you for the love &lt;3 &lt;3 &lt;3</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>‘Dear Pig, are you willing to sell for one shilling<br/>
Your ring?’ Said the Piggy, ‘I will.’<br/>
So they took it away, and were married next day<br/>
By the Turkey who lives on the hill.<br/>
They dined on mince, and slices of quince,<br/>
Which they ate with a runcible spoon;<br/>
And hand in hand, on the edge of the sand,<br/>
They danced by the light of the moon,<br/>
The moon,<br/>
The moon,<br/>
They danced by the light of the moon.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Edward Lear</em>
</p><p>~&amp;~ ~&amp;~ ~&amp;~</p><p>Sarah yawned as she sat at the desk in her office, reading the same line of her student’s essay on Mary Shelley over and over. </p><p>She looked at her watch.</p><p>It was quarter past seven on a Friday night, and she was still marking papers. No wonder she couldn’t think straight. She looked up as a knock on her door interrupted her.</p><p>‘Hey, Dr Wills?’ A sandy haired young man was leaning against the door frame, with a smug smile on his face as he used the faculty’s nickname for her.</p><p>‘What can I do for you, Willoughby?’ she asked with a frown.</p><p>‘Nothing really, was just heading out and wondered if you wanted a coffee or something? I thought you were going to fall asleep during Arianne’s monologue today. Not that anyone would blame you.’</p><p>He laughed in a way that she knew had girls all over campus eating out of his hands, but if he thought she was one of them he was sorely misguided. Coffee did sound good though… When was the last time she got a decent night’s rest?</p><p>As she was about to answer, a tall, curvy redhead appeared in the doorway.</p><p>‘Will, stop bothering the Professor, and don’t think I didn’t hear what you said about my poem.’ Arianne scowled at him, as she brought Sarah her customary latte, and shooed the twenty-something out of the doorway, hands on hips. Sarah couldn’t help but laugh as she sipped at the heavenly nectar. Arianne was her research assistant and also did odd jobs for her for a bit of extra credit.</p><p>‘He does have a point though…’</p><p>Sarah looked up to see liquid brown eyes staring into hers, as Arianne leaned heavily on the pile of books on the front of her desk, a sly smile on her face.</p><p>‘What do you mean?’ she asked, with a frown.</p><p>‘You’re <em>never</em> tired, Professor, though you must work over seventy hours a week. But lately you’ve been snappish, worn out, and kinda mean. Or completely the opposite; floating around campus like you’re on a cloud, being super nice. And… you’re glowing.’</p><p>Sarah looked taken aback. It had been four weeks since she had first started dreaming about the Underground, and she’d soon realized that they weren’t dreams at all. The morning after she first transformed, she noticed the puncture marks on her stomach where talons had pierced her skin. </p><p>They didn’t hurt, as if she’d healed almost immediately. But she didn’t know that she’d been acting any differently. Her flush deepened</p><p>‘So? What gives? It’s a <em>man</em>, isn’t it?’</p><p>Arianne was gazing down at her, with her trademark gigantic smile.</p><p>Sarah flushed slightly, but shook her head with a dismissive laugh.</p><p>‘Ha! As if I have time to date.’ she scoffed.</p><p>‘No-one said anything about dating…’ said Arianne, with a knowing grin, her eyebrow’s wiggling suggestively as her tone lowered.</p><p>Sarah just laughed at her.</p><p>‘Speaking of boyfriends, you’re going to miss your big date with your own mystery man if you don’t clear off soon, young lady.’ she said, giving her student a smirk.</p><p>‘Okay, fine, I'll butt out, Professor. I just hope this guy <em>deserves</em> you. Is there anything you need before I go?’</p><p>Sarah gave her a bemused smile, but shook her head.</p><p>‘No thanks, Arianne, I will be going home about eight-ish anyway.’</p><p>‘Aah, cool, maybe drop by the chapel and check Dr Jones has gone home too, you know how he is. That man can sleep literally anywhere.’</p><p>Sarah chuckled at the image. It was true. The faculty joked that he was a narcoleptic, but he swore blind he wasn’t.</p><p>‘I will, Arianne. Have a good time.’</p><p>‘You too, Dr Wills’ she winked as she collected her bag and headed off.</p><p>Sarah shook her head, and tried to concentrate, but something kept bugging her, as if she had forgotten an important event was happening soon. </p><p>But, even full of coffee, after a mere ten minutes, she was sound asleep at her desk.</p><p>~&amp;~ ~&amp;~ ~&amp;~</p><p>Jareth stared out over his Kingdom from his balcony, biting down hard on the clay pipe as night fell over the Labyrinth. Wrapped in his dressing gown, he puffed stoically away, his mind in a thousand places, and none.</p><p>His attempts to move the stars and buy time to find himself a more suitable bride, had failed. </p><p>
  <em>Spectacularly.</em>
</p><p>Lady Sylvania was all the spoilt, primped, petticoated, pain in the arse he expected her to be. But worse than that, her excitement to be his Queen had led her to use her considerable power too, and as much as he was extending time three fold, she seemed to be driving it in the opposite direction.</p><p>So, all in all, he had one night of freedom left before he was bound forever to a woman who had proven herself everything his parents apparently wanted for him, and nothing he actually would want for himself.</p><p>He looked across at the outfit standing on the mannequin next to his mirror.</p><p>Wedding clothes: White trousers, a white high collared shirt, a silver waistcoat, and a long silvery gold jacket, covered in the various medals and ribbons that told of his rank and accomplishments. There was a clasp on each shoulder for the shimmering cape that he would wear with it.</p><p>He picked at the fruit bowl on the table, absently eating grapes between puffs of his pipe, as he paced about his room, his impending nuptials hanging over his head like an axe.</p><p>
  <em>And where was that damned feline?</em>
</p><p>He’d called her <em>Sorcha</em>, the Gaelic translation of another green eyed beauty’s name, ironically meaning ‘queen’, and she would randomly turn up once a day, and leave just as randomly, though he’d never found out where she went, or where she came from. But she seemed to be his only friend, and he wished she was here, just so he didn’t feel so horribly alone...</p><p>Jareth had never wished for anything in his life, <em>why ever would he?</em> But right then he closed his eyes. And took a deep breath...</p><p>A noise interrupted him, and he opened his mismatched eyes to see a sleek black feline staring up at him from the entrance to the balcony, tail swishing from side to side as if in expectation.</p><p>‘There you are, Miss Sorcha, where in the ten planes did you come from?’</p><p>He smiled and she jumped up to sit beside him on the wide ledge. She immediately butted her head against him, and he held his hand out for her to rub herself against. He ran his fingers over her soft, glossy fur as he smoked his pipe, blowing rings into the air that she then started to chase.</p><p>He laughed at her, and blew more rings her way, greatly amused at her frustration as they disappeared. Eventually she mewled at him as if fed up, and jumped up into his lap, where she got comfortable, digging her claws into the thick material of his dressing gown as he stroked her gently.</p><p>‘Strange creature, how did I ever end up with such a friend as you?’</p><p>She looked at him and meowed, as if it meant something in response, then her attention was stolen by a chime, and she jumped from his lap with a shriek.</p><p>A thump told him she’d bolted under the bed again. It was her favourite place to hide. </p><p>Especially when Sylvania was on the prowl...</p><p>‘Come!’ he said, stifling a groan, as he stepped back into his bedroom, now wearing an all black ensemble to match the foul mood that had just eclipsed his lightening one.</p><p>The doors opened, admitting a very regal looking woman through them, her skirts wide, satin and a bright, cerulean blue, her white blonde hair curled and piled so high and straight that she looked like something from a Regency inspired Cinderella story.</p><p>Her face was pretty, but overpainted, sporting fake freckles that were all the rage at court. Her mouth was painted a deep pink that made the chalky makeup she wore look all the more unnatural.</p><p>‘My Lady?’ bowed Jareth, as she held out her hand for him to brush his lips over. She giggled at his touch in a way that made his skin crawl. ‘To what do I owe the pleasure of your call? I thought you were spending this night with your family?’</p><p>His countenance conveyed no <em>pleasure</em> whatsoever.</p><p>‘Oh, Jareth’ she simpered, pronouncing his name wrongly, as usual, without the hard ‘a’ sound. ‘I just thought that tomorrow, we are to be... ‘she giggled again, showing all her teeth, ‘you <em>know.</em> Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we flaunt convention and spend our last night of freedom… together?’</p><p>She gave him her best come hither look. He raised an eyebrow in surprise. Just the idea made his insides squirm with revulsion. If he was forced to spend eternity with this creature, she was going to give him one last night to himself.</p><p>It’s not as if he hadn’t <em>tried</em>. </p><p>She wasn’t unattractive under all that paint, and he’d been pulled into the idea by Titania, his mother, to give the woman a chance.</p><p>Biggest mistake he’d ever made. </p><p>Not only was their brief liaison as uninspiring and unsatisfying as he’d imagined, she’d acted as if they’d sealed their betrothal, and had informed everyone that they were engaged, had even gone digging in his vault and found herself a ring. </p><p>The gaudiest, ugliest thing that she could find, no less.</p><p>But, so, <em>so</em> much worse than that, was that the few dreams he’d had of sailing across a calm ocean with the Champion had cast into stark relief that Sylvania was not what he wanted. At all. </p><p>But, she’d monopolised his time, kept him very busy in the Goblin Kingdom, and he’d put much of his power into thwarting her attempts to play with time, and into defending himself against the spells she’d tried to use on him.</p><p>He'd desperately tried to flee, but was apparently caged inside his own realm by some magic that had Oberon’s unmistakable signature. His attempts to contact the champion had also come to absolutely nothing. Without Hoghead…</p><p>
  <em>No, don’t think about that…</em>
</p><p>Jareth had found some amusement in seeing Sylvania’s frustration, every time she’d expected him to fall at her feet. He pretended he didn’t know what she was doing, and she’d eventually put it down to his having some kind of natural resistance against her magic. He wished as much was true, he was becoming exhausted from her near constant attacks on him.</p><p>And here she was. <em>Again</em>. He could feel her wiles twisting against his magic, testing it, trying to find a way through.</p><p>Jareth fervently wished she was <em>something</em>. He’d attempted to engage her in conversation, to speak about anything. The Kingdom perhaps? Or her favourite books and hobbies. Had tried, under his mother’s watchful presence, to find something they had in common. But the depth of her vacuousness was apparently endless, and she merely tittered and smiled and gossiped endlessly about her favourite courtiers and their shenanigans, and what she would do to them if she ever had the power.</p><p>Even Titania had excused herself with a headache after a mere hour. And <em>this</em> was what they considered suitable?</p><p>Jareth schooled his features so as not to worry her, as he leaned against the bureau.</p><p>‘But, poppet, you <em>know</em> it’s bad luck…’ he gave her his sexiest pout, with just the hint of a smile, having mastered the art of wielding his sexuality a long time before she’d even been born. He didn’t need his magic to have her absolutely eating out of his hands, as he looked up at her with hooded eyes. He brushed his lips against the inside of her wrist, just enough that a little moan escaped her. ‘Just think how incredible tomorrow will be, once we’re bound…’</p><p>He looked straight into her eyes as he dropped his voice an octave, pulling her closer so he could place a thumb against her chin, suppressing a shudder as he feathered his fingers across her jaw. She mewled as he touched her, and she bent her lips towards his.</p><p>A furious shriek broke the moment, as something with claws and teeth came flying out of nowhere and hit Sylvania right in her overcorsetted bosom.</p><p>‘Gods! Jareth! I told you to get rid of that damned hellion!’ screeched the woman as she batted away the angry cat, who was hissing at her as she stood between them, back rankled as she bared her teeth.</p><p>‘I’m sure she’s just playing.’ said Jareth, smirking as he plucked Sorcha from the rug and held her close. She settled in his arms, making angry little mewls as she stared down the Fae, who's eyes were such a light blue they resembled ice.</p><p>‘You would take that creature’s side, over <em>mine?’</em> fumed Sylvania, her neat beehive coming a little undone as she swiped at the angry welts rising on her chest, healing them. ‘If I see that <em>awful thing</em> in this castle once we’re married, I will feed it to the bog monster in <em>pieces.</em>’</p><p>He gave her a look that made her recoil, slightly, lips curling to show his pointed teeth.</p><p>‘Bold of you to assume you’d have any such authority, Sylvania.’ he growled, his act dropped immediately. ‘As a mere consort, you will only have the power I grant you, and feeding my subjects to each other is a pleasure only <em>I</em> get to participate in. And, my lady, until we <em>are</em> married, you <em>will</em> use my title. I never gave you leave to use my name, <em>another</em> liberty you took without permission.’</p><p>Fake tears started to well in her eyes.</p><p>‘And <em>this</em> is what I get for my devotion? What I’m sacrificing <em>everything</em> for? You would treat your <em>betrothed</em> thus?’</p><p>Jareth’s eyes narrowed as he scratched at the throat of the cat in his arms, who closed her eyes in pleasure as she purred, keeping the narrowest of slits open and trained on Sylvania.</p><p>‘You? <em>Sacrifice</em>? Oh, <em>please</em>.’ he scoffed. ‘Let us, for once, speak plainly here, Sylvania. You gain a crown, and a comfortable life, and all the baubles you could possibly want. The truth of the matter is that you forced yourself on me, never gave me room to seek another bride, and you dare talk of <em>sacrifice</em>? You don’t love me, Syl. Don’t you dare act as if this is what we <em>want</em>. I will do my duty to you as my wife, and eventually the mother of my heir. That is all you may ever <em>demand</em> of me. That is all I’ll ever be willing to <em>give.</em> Understand? Now, get out.’</p><p>He turned from her, ignored her whimpering rebuke, his heart thumping as the doors to his chambers eventually slammed and she was gone.</p><p>~&amp;~ ~&amp;~ ~&amp;~</p><p>Jareth stared out at the Labyrinth for so long that when Sorcha stirred in his arms, they felt cramped, and he shook them out as the cat jumped from them, cracking his back and neck as he stretched. He didn’t even watch her to see where she would go, if she left.</p><p>It was best he didn’t know.</p><p>Tomorrow, <em>everything</em> would change for him, and he didn’t know how long he would get to spend with her. He almost hoped she never came back, worried now what his intended would do to the poor creature, when she caught her. And, after his little speech, it was definitely <em>when.</em></p><p>He wanted to run, far, <em>far</em> away. Into the arms of a woman who smelled like roses and honey, who’s effervescent wit never failed to fascinate the hell out of him.</p><p>
  <em>Say your right words...</em>
</p><p>Standing on his balcony, a warm wind in his hair, the Labyrinth sheathed in darkness, Jareth spoke the words that would shake his kingdom to its very core.</p><p>‘I wish that I could be far away from here, with someone who loves and wants <em>me</em>, not just the throne I sit on.’</p><p>To his surprise, he felt magic weave around the words, and before he could react, he found himself on a boat, tied to a jetty, the bright face of the moon staring down at him.</p><p>As he stared, incredulously, the moon <em>winked</em> at him.</p><p>~&amp;~ ~&amp;~ ~&amp;~</p><p>
  <em>Sarah was walking through a forest, the thick trees almost claustrophobic as they crowded in on her. She looked around for some sense of direction.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>The stars blinked down at her through gaps in the canopy, beckoning as they played and sparkled, and she followed them to a clearing.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>To her surprise, a man with untidy sandy hair was sitting in a deck chair with sunglasses on, as if he was sunning himself by moonlight. He was absolutely covered in piercings and tattoos. He smiled at her approach.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>‘Wotcher! Lost are we?’ he smiled.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>‘W...Willoughby?’ she asked, recognising him. For some reason he had what she thought was a London accent.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>He merely smiled at her question.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>‘He’s down on the beach. That way.’ said the pierced man, with a cock of the head.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>‘Who is?’ she asked, but the man just smiled, and plucked the large ring from the middle of his nose.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>‘Here, you might need this.’ he grinned, and shooed her off as he took a sip of the cocktail next to him.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>She headed for a gap in the trees, and suddenly found herself on a moonlit beach, waves gently crashing against it. A pea-green yacht was tied to a jetty not far from her, and a blonde dressed in white and grey was walking down the sand toward her.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Something told her to hurry, and she slid down the incline and onto the harder packed sand nearer the water, practically running in her urgency to reach him.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>‘Jareth!’ </em>
</p><p>
  <em>She threw herself into his arms, and he spun her around, his arms tight around her. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>‘Oh Sarah, my Sarah.’</em>
</p><p>
  <em>As her feet hit the sand again, his hands were on her face, and he was kissing her urgently, his lips covering every inch of her skin. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>‘Oh, my love, if only you were real.’ he was saying, and she realized that his face was wet with tears.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Something writhed inside her as she had that nagging feeling pressing against her insides again.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>‘What’s wrong, Jareth?’ she asked, frowning, looking up into his face. ‘This place may be fantasy, but I’m definitely real. Asleep, but it’s still me’</em>
</p><p>
  <em>He looked at her intensely.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>‘Then how could I wish myself here?’ he asked, pulling himself away from her, and turning toward the forest of oddly shaped trees, that looked as if they were gently puffing smoke the way their flowers grew. ‘Wherever this is.’</em>
</p><p>
  <em>‘It’s the land where the Bong-Tree grows. You know, from the poem…?’ she answered. ‘Jareth, tell me what’s going on?’</em>
</p><p>
  <em>‘What poem? You’re saying that I wished myself into a fantasy?’</em>
</p><p>
  <em>‘Wished yourself? I’ll answer your questions, if you tell me why you look so…’</em>
</p><p>
  <em>‘So... what?’ he growled</em>
</p><p>
  <em>She set her jaw as she stared across at him, ruby lips pursed sadly.</em>
</p><p><em>‘So </em>defeated<em>.’ she said, playing with the gold ring she was still holding.</em></p><p>
  <em>Jareth’s shoulders slumped and his knees gave out at her words. He wrapped his arms around her legs as he knelt on the sand and cried into her stomach. She ran a soothing hand through his hair.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>‘I… they’re making me get married to that...that…’</em>
</p><p>
  <em>‘Lady Sylvania…’ answered Sarah, as the memory of a woman in a poofy violet dress, blonde hair piled high on her head as she chased her around the castle, suddenly came back to her. She’d narrowly missed being electrocuted by the sparks thrown her way so many times.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>‘How do you know that?’ he asked looking up at her, incredulously.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>She levelled a green eyed stare at him.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>‘I don’t know. Or I do, but it makes no sense. Something odd has been happening since I read a poem to my students called ‘the Owl and the Pussycat’ by Edward Lear.’</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Jareth stared at her for a long moment, pulling himself back to his feet, brushing sand from his trousers.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>‘You’re not telling me that you’ve been coming to visit me for a month and I didn’t even realise it?’ he said, wide eyed.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>‘I believe so.’</em>
</p><p><em>‘</em>How?<em>’</em></p><p>
  <em>‘Damned if I know. I don’t even think like a human half the time, so the details are kind of foggy.’</em>
</p><p>
  <em>‘So you’re here too…?’</em>
</p><p>
  <em>‘No, I believe I fell asleep at my desk.’</em>
</p><p>
  <em>‘Your desk?’</em>
</p><p>
  <em>‘Yes, I’m a teacher, I specialise in Drama and English literature.’</em>
</p><p>
  <em>‘Oh, I see. So, in this metaphor, you’re the cat… and I’m the owl? And you’ve been coming to the Underground in a feline form…’ </em>
</p><p>
  <em>Then, he chuckled, suddenly.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>‘What’s so funny?’</em>
</p><p><em>‘The time you upended the ink bottle onto Sylvania’s favourite frock. I thought she was going to </em>murder<em> you. You jumped into my arms so quickly…’</em></p><p><em>‘Yes, well, if I remember rightly that hardly stopped her from </em>trying<em>...’ She muttered.</em></p><p>
  <em>‘Yes, she was definitely jealous of your place in my life, and malicious with it. So you see why I don’t want to bind myself to such a creature for the rest of my life?’</em>
</p><p>
  <em>‘Of course. She was also evil to the goblins when you weren't around, but I could never tell you, and I never really remembered the details the next morning to try to get a message to you, or Hoggle, or Didymus. Does Hoggle still work for you?’</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Jareth looked both sad and uncomfortable at the name.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>‘I’m so sorry, Sarah... Higgle was killed when a stray rocket devised by the goblins destroyed part of the Labyrinth’s outer wall. About ten years ago. I got there just too late, but gave him a state funeral.’</em>
</p><p>
  <em>‘What? Oh. Oh no! Poor Hoggle!’ Tears welled in her eyes, and Jareth pulled her into his arms as she grieved for her friend.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>‘I tried to invite you, flew halfway across the Above trying to find you, but... you didn't want to be found.’ </em>
</p><p>
  <em>That realisation just renewed her grief as she sobbed harder.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>‘What a pair we are.’ he said softly as he held her, tears falling down his face in kind. He’d kept the dwarf close for years, a gruff reminder to Jareth of the girl who’d stolen his heart, always keen to tell of her accomplishments Above. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>Until her life had been taken over by adult thoughts and she’d lost her connection to the realm of magic.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>‘So we’re in a poem are we? How does it go?’ he asked, trying to take her mind off her sadness.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>She nodded, wiping the wetness from her face, then recited it perfectly. He smiled, it was prettily whimsical, though the rendering of it seemed to be Sarah’s imagination at play.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>‘So they run away and get married?’ he frowned, with a sigh. ‘If only such a choice was afforded me...’</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Sarah looked across at him, as he kicked a shell across the sand, her lips pursed in thought. She examined the golden ring in her palm. Words she couldn’t make out were inscribed on the underside.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>‘Would that solve your problem?’ she asked him, and he looked up at her quizzically.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>‘What?’ he asked, as he sent a stone skimming across the surf.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>‘If you run away and get married?’ </em>
</p><p>
  <em>She pursed her lips, something squirming in her belly as she realised what she was saying… She bit the inside of her cheek as she held out the ring.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>He looked down at it and then at her, his mouth falling open as she gazed at him intensely, her countenance perfectly serious.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>‘But, how? And you would do that? For me?’ </em>
</p><p>
  <em>He returned her intense gaze, realising they were standing so very close to each other. He didn’t dare breath in that moment. </em>
</p><p><em></em>This had to be just a wonderful dream...<em></em></p><p>
  <em>‘I think I know a way. But we must go, now. And yes, apparently, I will.’ she smiled, and pressed her thumb against his jaw. ‘So what do you say, Jareth, King of Goblins? Will you marry me?’</em>
</p><p>
  <em>She grinned, and he looked at her, eyes wide, before planting a kiss square on her lips.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>‘Yes! For every star in the sky I will’ he breathed into her skin.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>She smiled and stepped back, and looked toward the sky, as the Milky Way seemed to spin impossibly fast around them. The wind picked up, whipping around them as if responding to the tension.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>‘I wish…’ she cried as lightning thundered in the cloudless sky, ‘I wish for the Goblin King to come to me Above, and to be mine, forever!’ </em>
</p><p>
  <em>Magic crackled in the air and suddenly, there was nothing on the beach but the moonlight, playing on the waves as they crested.</em>
</p><p>~&amp;~ ~&amp;~ ~&amp;~</p><p>Sarah woke with a start, wiping drool off her sleeve as she got her bearings once more. She was in her office, at her desk. exactly where she should have been.</p><p>That dream had been so real, but... It wasn’t, this time, surely? And had she really asked the Goblin King to marry her? </p><p>She definitely needed a good night’s sleep.</p><p>As she ran her hands through her hair, and turned to look at the clock, she nearly jumped out of her skin.</p><p>‘Hello, <em>Precious.’</em></p><p>~&amp;~ ~&amp;~ ~&amp;~</p><p>Jareth was standing in front of the very ordinary floor length mirror in her office, apparently having just stepped through it. </p><p>He looked divine, dressed in duck egg blue trousers and a black wrap shirt, his medallion shining on his chest, the gold standing out against the darkness of it. His armoured leather jacket was tossed over a shoulder as he leaned against the wall, smirking down at her, head cocked to one side.</p><p>They stared at each other for a long, <em>long</em>, moment.</p><p>Jareth looked much calmer than he felt. Inside he was frantically trying to decipher the wide eyed look on her face. Was it happiness? Incredulousness? Fear? Loathing? <em>Lust…?</em> Gods he wished he knew what she was thinking.</p><p>She looked… <em>old.</em> But not aged. As if he could see every second of the last fifteen years written in her face. Adulthood was certainly becoming on her. </p><p>Her long, dark chocolate hair was pulled back into a smart ponytail, a sensible cream blouse paired with a black wool pencil skirt and matching pumps. He could see light makeup, highlighting her eyes and cheeks, her lipstick a deep red that made the green of her eyes stand out. She wore a red belt of the exact same shade.</p><p>She looked tired, and thin, as if she wasn’t getting enough proper nutrition. But, she was now wide awake, her eyes sliding up and down him as if she expected him to disappear any second now. A pair of glasses sat askew on her head. They looked like cat ears.</p><p>
  <em>Cat ears</em>
</p><p><em>Sorcha…?</em> It really was true.</p><p>‘Now, Sarah…’ he started, as he took a step toward her.</p><p>‘No... no’ she said, as she waved her hand through the air in the same motion she would flick her tail in, pulling the glasses from her head. ‘Just… just let me look at you... for a minute.’</p><p>She pulled herself up, almost as tall as he was in her patent leather pumps, and stepped up to him, scanning him as if he was an interesting bit of text in an ancient tome. Her clothes hugged her curves invitingly, and he could just see the outline of the lace of her bra under the fabric of her blouse. He forced himself not to stare at that particular spot, instead following her gaze with his eyes.</p><p>Eventually she held out a hand and gently pressed it to his shoulder as if expecting him to be a mirage.</p><p>‘Oh…’ she breathed, and for a second she looked as if she would burst out crying. ‘You’re real.’</p><p>Fingers curled around her hand and he pressed it to his lips.</p><p>‘Far too real, I fear.’ he said softly against her fingertips.</p><p>She cocked her head to the side, a strange look on her face. Butterflies flew around his insides as he recognised that look.</p><p>
  <em>Mine</em>
</p><p>Her fingers curled possessively around his as she leaned in closer, her other hand fisting into the fabric of his shirt, as he bent toward her, their eyes locked...</p><p>The clock on the wall struck eight o'clock, and Sarah stepped away abruptly.</p><p>‘Oh, no!’</p><p>She let go of Jareth, and turned to the desk, leaving him looking a little punch drunk, threw some books into a large, red briefcase, and put her black, wire rimmed glasses on her face, as she pulled her long coat from the back of the chair and then held out her hand to him.</p><p>‘Where are we going?’ he asked, but reached out for her. Her grip on him was gentle but firm as she ushered him toward the door.</p><p>‘I assume you still want to get married?’ she asked, as she pushed him out and locked it behind him. </p><p>He gave a silent nod as her fingers threaded through his again, and she pulled him to the left at a frankly alarming pace.</p><p>‘I’m assuming we just need a ceremony? Will Episcopalian do?’ she asked as she marched along the parkay floor, her heels click-clacking, Jareth in tow.</p><p>‘Apiska-what?’ he asked as he attempted to keep stride as she led him down a series of corridors that felt Labyrinthine in their complexity. </p><p>
  <em>Ironic</em>
</p><p>‘But, yes, any ceremony, as long as it means something to one of us, will bind us appropriately.’</p><p>‘Good. I just hope we haven’t missed him.’</p><p>‘Who?’</p><p>‘The priest who will marry us.’</p><p>‘Oh. Sarah...’ Jareth pulled himself to a dead stop, causing Sarah to practically fall into his arms at the jerking motion. She turned to him with a confused pout.</p><p>‘What’s wrong?’ she asked.</p><p>He was looking at her with something akin to awe, and <em>pain.</em></p><p>‘Why are you doing this?’ he asked, and she saw all his hopes and dreams balanced on those five short words.</p><p>She pulled her glasses from her face, folded them neatly and slipped them into a pocket of her briefcase. She gave him a penetrating look that had his very soul quivering.</p><p>‘You need a wife. One that doesn’t make you want to shoot yourself. Am I correct?’ she asked, evenly.</p><p>‘Yes. But, what about what <em>you</em> need?’ he frowned across at her.</p><p>‘My needs are… currently irrelevant.’ she replied, and she took off again, her stride longer than should have been possible in that damned skirt. He caught up to her in a heartbeat.</p><p>‘Wait, Sarah.’ he pulled her round to face him.</p><p>‘Jareth, you’re wasting time.’ she huffed, as he blocked her path.</p><p>‘Not to me.’ he breathed. ‘Your needs are not irrelevant in this, Precious. If we do this, there is no going back. No divorce, no annulments, perhaps not even death will separate us. And…. I couldn’t bear the thought of you spending eternity with me unhappy in your choice. This isn’t something you can decide in a moment.’</p><p>She gazed back at him, the resolution there both familiar and disarming. His breath caught as she smote him with just a look. Straight through his willing heart.</p><p>‘Yet, a moment is all I needed.’ she said, and she pushed passed him. </p><p>He did not have a retort, just followed her with a sigh.</p><p>She took a sharp left, and Jareth found himself walking into a dimly lit room, candles everywhere, stained glass windows on the facing wall depicting the crucifixion and the resurrection of the Christian God. He could feel the  power in this place as he walked down the few steps.</p><p>
  <em>Sacred ground.</em>
</p><p>The magic of faith permeated the space, calm washing over him as he followed Sarah, feeling her reverence for it. He felt free, somehow. As if all was as it should be.</p><p>
  <em>This would do perfectly.</em>
</p><p>‘Reverend?’ called Sarah softly. She followed a familiar sound, finding the Reverend Dr Jones fast asleep and snoring, loudly, in a front pew.</p><p>‘Dr Jones…’ she called over the back of it, relieved he was still here. ‘Dr Jones… Wake up!’</p><p>He opened his eyes with a start and an almighty snoring sound. </p><p>‘Whu… what? Oh.. Sarah, is that you?’ he said, pulling his long, blonde hair from his face. ‘I was just resting my eyes.’</p><p>‘Uhuh,’ she smiled down at him, ‘ I’m just relieved you’re still here. Though I’m sure Esmae is wondering where you are, as usual.’</p><p>‘Oh…’ he yawned. ‘I daresay she’s used to it by now. Though my dinner will be in the dog if I don’t get home soon. What time is it?’</p><p>‘Just passed eight. And… you might be a bit later yet. Dinner’s on me though, if you do me an itsy bitsy favour?’</p><p>‘Intriguing…?’ he said, looking her up and down. ‘And, who is this... er… handsome fellow?’ he frowned as he noticed Jareth, who was giving him a dark look as he leaned on the side of the pew.</p><p>‘Oh, um, this is Jareth, my uh… <em>fiancé</em>. Jareth, this is our resident doctor of philosophy, Reverend Jones.’</p><p>‘Charmed’ growled Jareth, as the Reverend looked him over.</p><p>‘Fiancé?’ pouted the older man, early fifties and still very good looking. ‘But, Sarah, I thought you were going to run away with me?’</p><p>He gave Jareth a teasing side eye.</p><p>‘Oh? I’m sure Esmae would love that… take you off her hands… But, no, I’m actually <em>running away</em> with Jareth. As in, right now, if you would be so kind?’</p><p>The reverend gave her a confused look.</p><p>‘You mean... You want me to <em>marry</em> you. <em>Now?</em> Whatever for?’</p><p>‘Let’s just say it’s an emergency… but, can you do it?’</p><p>‘Sarah, you can’t just do these things on whim. The bans for a start, and witnesses. Rings...? What on Earth could be so urgent?’</p><p>‘Jareth is being forced to marry someone he doesn't love in the morning. That urgent enough?’ quipped Sarah</p><p>‘Well, okay that would be a problem. But…’</p><p>Jareth handed him a piece of paper he’d conjured from nowhere.</p><p>‘Are these in order?’ he asked.</p><p>‘Yes, indeed. Well I never. But witnesses are crucial…’</p><p>‘I think I can help with that.’</p><p>‘Sarah? Where are you going?’ asked Jareth.</p><p>‘A hunch.’ she said, pulling her hair from her ponytail and tossing it to even it all out.</p><p>Five minutes later she returned, with a ruby faced Arianne and Willoughby in tow.</p><p>‘I found these two making out in the AV suite. Which will be our little secret, if they do us this little favour.’ She raised an eyebrow at the pair of them. They fell into seats on opposite sides of the chapel like scolded children.</p><p>‘So, what do you say, Reverend?’ she asked, giving him a self assured smirk.</p><p>He pulled his glasses from a pocket and looked down at the papers and across at the undergrads.</p><p>‘Are you sure you want to do this?’ he asked, looking at both of them with a serious expression. ‘It’s not something that you just throw yourself into, after all.’</p><p>‘Absolutely.’ answered Sarah.</p><p>‘Very sure.’ replied Jareth.</p><p>‘Very well, if you are insistent. Give me five minutes to prepare and call my wife. Then we will crack on. I take it you’re giving yourself away?’ he looked towards Sarah.</p><p>‘Oh. Yes, of course. Sadly, Dad can’t be here to do it. Take too long and all that.’</p><p>She said it with a shrug, but Jareth could tell it bothered her. This ceremony was an important right of passage and it had been stolen from her. He bit his lip as he frowned down at her. But she looked just as resolved as ever.</p><p>‘Very well’ said the Reverend, and he walked into his office.</p><p>‘Oh, yeah…’ Sarah dug in her pocket for the ring she got from the tattooed guy. It seemed as real as she was. She held it up.</p><p>‘Bit big… but.’</p><p>Jareth smiled, and produced a dainty thing made from diamonds and white gold. It was quite stunning.</p><p>‘I rather think I’ve got you covered.’</p><p>‘Oh’ she said, and she smiled shyly, as he tucked a lock of hair behind her ear.</p><p>‘Wait, are you guys getting married?’ squealed Arianne, from a few seats back.</p><p>Sarah sighed, but nodded.</p><p>‘Oh my goodness! I have something that will be <em>perfect.</em> Back in a second.’</p><p>And she was gone.</p><p>She showed up the next minute with a boombox under one arm and a costume tiara with a veil attached to it, as well as a bunch of still wet roses wrapped hastily with a yard of lace.</p><p>‘We’ll have you looking like a bride in a moment!’ she squealed again, dragging Sarah to the corner of the chapel. </p><p>Leaving Jareth to stand at the altar, alone, wondering if he was living his greatest fantasy or worst nightmare.</p><p>Or <em>both.</em></p><p>~&amp;~ ~&amp;~ ~&amp;~</p><p>‘Spill...’ said Arianne as she pulled Sarah into a dark corner and started fussing with her clothes, undoing a button on her blouse, then placing the tiara on her head so that it sat perfectly, the veil dropping behind her.</p><p>It was the one that Sarah had made from Swarovski crystals, for the props department of the College’s Arts faculty. Arianne played with her hair, pulling grips from her pocket to secure the tiara and brush her hair from her face. She gave her professor an approving grunt and a raised eyebrow.</p><p>‘What do you want to know?’ asked Sarah, with a sigh.</p><p>‘Everything!’ she beamed, ‘Like, when did this even happen?’</p><p>‘I met him when I was young, we recently got back in touch…’</p><p>‘Geez, I knew there was somebody! So who <em>is</em> tall, blonde and regal? And those tight trousers… Wow… <em>Mazel tov</em>.’ Arianne gave her a wicked grin.</p><p>Sarah blushed. A vision of a moonlit deck came back to her, where they were pressed against each other on the cushions, and she’d been pulling at his trousers… she’d felt <em>all</em> of him. But then the dream had ended just as it had been getting<em> interesting… </em></p><p>She was marrying a man she’d never been properly intimate with. Grandma would be <em>so</em> proud. She was very well aware that he had a reputation though… Sylvania’s ladies in waiting were the <em>biggest</em> gossips…</p><p>‘He’s from, overseas… And call it a marriage of convenience.’</p><p>‘Really? For, like, a green card or something, so you guys can be together?’</p><p>‘Nothing quite so domestic. Where he comes from he’s kind of… they’re aristocracy, and very traditional, so he must take a wife to come into his, um... <em>inheritance</em>. But they’re forcing him to marry the most awful woman, <em>tomorrow</em>. And I… I just can’t let that happen…’</p><p>She was looking at Arianne with a fierce resolve. The younger woman raised her auburn eyebrows.</p><p>‘Wow, that’s kinda sad, and <em>so</em> romantic.’ frowned Arianne. ‘We best get you two hitched then!’</p><p>~&amp;~ ~&amp;~ ~&amp;~</p><p>Ten minutes later, Jareth was standing at the altar, with the Reverend Dr Jones in his Sunday best, having pulled on his jacket and made himself look presentable. He pulled off his gloves and placed them in a pocket of his jacket.</p><p>He fingered the ring in that pocket, wondering how he had ended up here. He felt as if it had been hours since he’d been moping in his bedroom contemplating the future, and he guessed that it was.</p><p>But here, in the Above, it had barely been an hour.</p><p>Music started playing, and he turned to see Sarah standing in the doorway, a long veil falling to the floor from the glittering Tiara on her brow, a bunch of pink and white roses in her hands. Arianne had pinched them from the lobby.</p><p>The music tinkled in a pretty melody, mostly violin, which shortly turned into the wedding march, and Sarah stepped forward. </p><p>Jareth couldn’t take his eyes from her. He couldn’t believe this beautiful woman would soon bind herself to him. The thought made him both scared and ecstatic. </p><p>Arianne walked behind her, holding her train like a bridesmaid, winking at Willoughby as they passed. He slipped into the front row, to watch with interest.</p><p>Jareth raised his hand as she drew level with him, and hers slipped into his, as she turned and gave Arianne the flowers. He could feel the magic starting to bind them already, weaving around them as they enacted the sacred elements of the ceremony.</p><p>They turned to the Reverend who smiled at them, then cleared his throat. He did it again, and Arianne squeaked, as she ran to turn off the portable stereo that was now playing something that was not appropriate for a wedding. Sarah laughed softly as Arianne slipped back into her pew.</p><p>‘Dearly beloved…’ he rumbled in his deep voice, ‘we are gathered here today to witness the union of this man and this woman in holy matrimony. I will keep this short and sweet…’</p><p>Jareth had informed the priest of his full name, but did not mention his various titles and honorifics. They were not needed here.</p><p>‘Time is short, so I shall merely say this: Our Heavenly Father smiles on those who devote themselves to each other, as these two young people before me do. Our Lord, Jesus Christ, who sacrificed himself for us all, he blesses this union of two souls in love. And the Holy spirit sees these vows you make, and binds you to your sacred oaths, forever.’</p><p>The way he said it gave Jareth pause, and the Reverend gave him a look that twinkled as if he knew more than he was letting on.</p><p>‘Now, Jareth Xavier Alaric Rex, will you have this woman to be your wedded wife, to live together according to God's law in the holy estate of matrimony? Will you love her, comfort her, honour and keep her, in sickness and in health; and, forsaking all others, keep yourself only unto her, so long as you both shall live?’</p><p>‘I will’ answered Jareth, a smile playing on the edges of his mouth as he said it. He turned to see Sarah staring at the reverend, marvelling at how beautiful she was as she wore such a serious look.</p><p>‘And you, Sarah Angela Mary, will you have this man to be your wedded husband, to live together according to God's law in the holy estate of matrimony? Will you love him, comfort him, honour and keep him, in sickness and in health; and, forsaking all others, give yourself only unto him, so long as you both shall live?’</p><p>‘Yes, I will.’ she answered, and he saw her take a breath as if in relief. She smiled to herself.</p><p>‘Who gives this woman to be married?’ asked the Reverend.</p><p>‘I do’ answered Sarah, giving her hand to the Reverend, who took it and placed it over Jareth’s.</p><p>‘Please, face each other. Jareth, repeat these words: I, Jareth Xavier Alaric Rex…’</p><p>Jareth looked into Sarah’s face as he said his vows, softly, each word like a kiss from his lips.</p><p>‘I, Jareth Xavier Alaric Rex,... take you, Sarah Angela Mary,... to be my wife,... to have and to hold from this day forward,... for better and for worse, for richer, for poorer, to love and to cherish, until death do us part…’</p><p>‘Which will be very soon if you say one more word…’</p><p>The voice was angry, and they turned to see a livid looking man, with a great bushy beard, standing right behind them.</p><p>Jareth’s eyes opened wide as he sputtered.</p><p>‘Father!?’</p><p>~&amp;~ ~&amp;~ ~&amp;~</p><p>Oberon was staring down his son with mismatched eyes that were a purplish blue, Jareth having inherited the colour of his mother’s eyes, both leaving their indelible mark on him as their own.</p><p>Jareth moved slightly in front of Sarah, putting himself in the line of fire. After his initial shock, the Goblin King’s lip curled over in an amused smirk.</p><p>‘Good of you to bless us with your presence, Father, unexpected as it was. Though your timing is rather unfortunate.’</p><p>Oberon narrowed his eyes at his boy.</p><p>‘I’ve come here to stop this. You will marry Sylvania and that is the end of the matter! How you even got through the wards, is anyone’s guess...’</p><p>‘Wards?’ growled Jareth, as he looked down his nose at Oberon. ‘What did you <em>do</em>, you old fool?’ he leaned over the shorter man menacingly, his hand still tightly clasped in Sarah’s.</p><p>‘This is a Holy place, gentlemen.’ said the Reverend, pointedly. ‘If you have a disagreement, take it outside…’</p><p>Oberon made a dismissive sound, and Jareth’s smile widened as he realised something.</p><p>‘Sit down, father, and for once be happy for me. This is happening, with or without your blessing. I don’t know how you tracked me here, but please, do stay.’</p><p>‘Ha! You would challenge <em>me?</em>’ Oberon sneered at the mere thought. ‘I could smite you with a flick of the wrist.’</p><p>‘Go on then.’ growled Jareth, his smile curling in smug satisfaction.’</p><p>‘I’ve had enough of this! You’re coming with me.’ Oberon grabbed Jareth's wrist and made a motion with his hand, and… nothing happened.</p><p>He did it again, a bemused expression on his face. The third time drove home the fact he could not access his magic. He made a frustrated noise as he let go of his son. It was there, but dulled, as if he was feeling it through a barrier.</p><p>‘You… <em>you…</em>!’</p><p>‘I... what?’ said Jareth, raising an eyebrow.</p><p>‘What did <em>you</em> do?’</p><p>‘Nothing whatsoever. You really should scry for magic before following someone’s trail blindly. Now sit. Young man, warn me if he so much as moves.’</p><p>He said it to Willoughby, who was looking the Faerie King up and down in confusion. Then, Jareth turned from his father and smiled across at Sarah.</p><p>‘Is everything okay?’ she asked.</p><p>‘Yes, Precious.’ he breathed as he placed his lips to her fingers. ‘Don’t mind him, he isn’t a threat. For now. But we should wrap this up, and quickly. Forgive me, Reverend Doctor, my father can be… difficult. Absurdly, he occasionally thinks he has magical powers...’ </p><p>‘Ahem, it’s alright. I see you weren’t exaggerating, though. Where were we? Oh yes. Repeat after me: I, Sarah Angela Mary…’</p><p>‘I, Sarah Angela Mary, take you Jareth Xavier Alaric Rex… to be my husband...’ </p><p>As Sarah said her vows she almost glowed with joy, keeping her gaze fixed on Jareth’s, who was giving her a look so full of devotion and relief that she wanted to reach out and pull him into her arms.</p><p>‘Do you have the rings?’ asked the Reverend Father, and they both placed their respective bands on the open bible in his hands.</p><p>‘Oh!’ gasped Sarah, as a tiny electrical spark flashed between the bands and their fingers. Jareth’s eyes glittered as he asked if she was alright. </p><p>‘That was weird…’ she said, and she thought she knew what it was. She could smell it faintly all around her.</p><p>‘Was it?’ his eyes were unreadable in the shadow of his hair.</p><p>
  <em>Magic</em>
</p><p>‘Bless these rings, oh Lord, that they who give them and wear them shall remain faithful to each other, abide by your peace and your favour, and live in love as long as they both shall live. In the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord, Amen.’</p><p>He held out the Bible, to Jareth, who took the ring, and placed it around Sarah’s left ring finger, but didn’t push it on. Father Jones gave him a nod and a wink. He knew what to say.</p><p>‘With this ring I thee wed, with my body I will honour thee all the days, and nights, of my life. All I possess, including my throne, I share with thee.’ </p><p>A few shrieks of surprise rose from the few witnesses, the loudest coming from a woman who had white blonde hair coiled down to her feet, and was wearing a wrap dress in an eye searingly bright shade of magenta. She stood in the aisle, watching, tears falling from her face as she was held behind some kind of invisible barrier.</p><p>‘Jareth, no!’ she pleaded. He ignored her as he pushed on.</p><p>‘In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.’</p><p>He slipped the ring onto her finger and Sarah felt as if the floor was about to drop out from underneath her, and the smell of Ozone was strong in the air. When she took the ring from the Bible, it felt hot in her fingers.</p><p>‘With this ring I thee wed, with my body I will honour thee all the days of our lives, and the nights too, and all that I may possess I share it with thee. Gladly. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.’</p><p>The ring seemed to glow as it found its place around Jareth’s finger, writing in that unfamiliar language rising for a second and disappearing, as it shrunk to fit his long narrow finger.</p><p>‘And so,’ said the Reverend Jones, as he placed their right hands over each other, ‘those whom God has joined together, let no <em>one</em> pull asunder. </p><p>The ground seemed to shake slightly as he said it, raising his voice to drown out the din of thunder and the dramatically wailing Sylvania.</p><p>‘Forasmuch,’ he boomed across the chapel, ‘Jareth and Sarah have consented to be bound in holy wedlock, and have witnessed the same before God and this company, their vow to each other, and have declared so by the giving and receiving of a ring, and the joining of hands. In the name of God the father, God the son and God the Holy Spirit, I pronounce that they be man and wife.’</p><p>He leaned forward with a knowing smile.</p><p>‘You may kiss…’</p><p>The whole room seemed to shake and bells rang as Jareth pulled Sarah into a kiss that made her knees go weak with it’s tenderness. The kiss of a King to his Queen. The world went quiet for a second as the magic completed its binding of them with a knot she swore she could feel twist around her heart.</p><p>As they pulled apart, and the world seemed to start spinning again, and whatever wall was between them and Sylvania crumbled, the woman rushed at Jareth like a hell-beast.</p><p>‘How <em>could</em> you!? How could you marry some strange mortal when you had me? <em>Me</em>!? All the promises you made…’</p><p>‘Hello Sylvania,’ said Sarah with a smirk, as they turned toward her.</p><p>‘<em>You</em>! You <em>dare</em> address me? You mortal bi…’</p><p>‘Finish that thought, Sylvania and you will regret it.’ snarled Jareth, as he pulled Sarah’s hand into the crook of his arm. ‘She is my <em>wife</em>. You will pay her the proper respect. And get up off the floor, right now, you desecrate sacred ground with your vapid tears. We both know you manipulated a promise out of me, were <em>conspiring</em> with my family to force me down the aisle. Well force me you did. Fortunately I found someone vastly more suitable at the altar.’</p><p>‘How was this even possible?’ groaned Sylvania through her mascara covered eyes, an obvious glamour as magical makeup would never run. She turned to Oberon, who had been very quiet. He didn’t look at her, as if in a trance.</p><p>‘You! You said you stopped them from reconnecting. My parents are going to be apoplectic… You can forget about our deal, Your <em>Majesty</em>. And as for the Goblin King… I always hated your awful Kingdom, I only wanted you so I could have what I was promised… The High Throne… Consider this a declaration of war…’</p><p>With a smirk, she twisted on the spot, as if to disappear away in an elegant puff of magic, but instead the magic sizzled and popped, and she put her head in her hands and pulled at her hair.</p><p>‘I <em>hate</em> the Above!’ she cried as she marched out of the Chapel, disappearing as soon as the magic would allow her to.</p><p>‘It was a beautiful ceremony, my son. Very fitting.’ said a voice, as a tall and beautiful woman stepped from the shadows to Sarah’s right.</p><p>She had long chestnut brown hair that was regally held up on her head, to set off the diamond pins that glittered there. She wore a very light green dress, that was almost like a sheer sheet of gossamer wings wrapped around her, just opaque enough to cover her milky skin. Her eyes were the same shade of blue as Jareth’s.</p><p>‘Mother?’ asked Jareth as the woman stepped toward him, a soft smile gracing her features, ‘You’ve been here this whole time?’</p><p>‘I have.’ she said, as she brushed her lips against his cheek in greeting. ‘Forgive me for the subterfuge, but I thought it would be easier than trying to explain. Please, introduce me to your bride.’</p><p>‘Uh, Sarah, this is my mother, Titania, Queen of the Fae. Mother, may I present my bride, Sarah, Champion of the Labyrinth.’</p><p>‘I’ve been looking forward to meeting you my dear.’ she said softly, as she pulled Sarah into a hug. ‘I hoped it would have been before your wedding, but my husband and his protégé had other ideas.’</p><p>‘It’s a pleasure to meet your Majesty.’ smiled Sarah. ‘And it was a bit sudden. But, I thought you wanted Jareth to marry Sylvania?’</p><p>‘Did you indeed?’ she smiled, ‘I see I have much to tell. I feel a wedding breakfast is in order. Your witnesses are welcome to join and I’m sure Alfred is starving by now.’</p><p>The Reverend was watching them with polite interest until his name was mentioned. Arianne and Willoughby had no clue what was going on, but were watching them wide eyed.</p><p>‘Hello, Aunt Titania, and yes, I could eat…’</p><p>‘Aunt?’ asked Sarah, frowning. Jareth just shook his head. He was shocked too. Titania greeted her great grand nephew, a few dozen times removed.</p><p>‘Alfred is the descendent of my human sister, Daira. I’ve kept in touch with them my whole life.’</p><p>Jareth looked as if something had clicked in his head.</p><p>‘So that’s why the magic was so powerful?’ he said, mostly to Sarah. ‘Not only was your connection to this place strong to start with, but my connection to it was literally sealed by my human blood. Sacred places are imbued by the magic of worship, the power of belief, so once the ritual was set in motion, nothing in heaven or Earth, or even the Underground could stop it. Except us, of course.’</p><p>Sarah felt the throb of a headache coming.</p><p>‘This is all very overwhelming, I think food might help.’</p><p>~&amp;~ ~&amp;~ ~&amp;~</p><p>The next second they were sitting in what looked like a Tuscan garden, surrounded by cyprus trees and pillars, the view of the sea utterly spectacular. A feast of food was laid out before them, including a rather large wedding cake.</p><p>Arianne and Willoughby both looked shocked, clasping hands as they looked around in amazement.</p><p>‘Dr Wills? What’s going on?’ asked Arianne in a hushed whisper.</p><p>‘My new husband is a faerie king. Cue huge drama. But I’ll explain it all later, if that’s okay? Is Willoughby alright, he hasn’t said a word?’</p><p>‘Uh, yeah, he's a wee bit high, so he thinks he’s just had some really good weed and that this is a play rehearsal.’</p><p>‘Oh. Probably for the best…’she said as she took her seat next to Jareth at the large round table.</p><p>The meal was blessed, as was their union, and then they got to the eating and the explanations.</p><p>‘Tell me, mother, how were you involved in all this?’ asked Jareth as he took a sip of Champagne. ‘I thought you liked Sylvania?’</p><p>She laughed.</p><p>‘No, absolutely not. Exactly the opposite. I went along with it so I could set my own plan in motion unsuspected. Opposing it would have been the wrong thing to do. Your father was insistent you find a wife, I merely saw to it that you had options. When Alfred told me he'd met the Champion some years ago, I wondered what would happen if you saw each other again’</p><p>‘So that was your magic?’ asked Sarah.</p><p>‘No, my dear. All I did was push a book out from the opposite side of a shelf. The magic I used was to keep me hidden. The power that transformed you, was your own, you always had the ability to return. But, since you lost your belief in magic some years ago, I had to give you a little push...’</p><p>‘My magic? I don’t understand…’</p><p>‘The Labyrinth bestowed its blessing on you as its Champion, and Jareth unwittingly marked you with his own magic by making the offer he did. The thing with magic, is that it felt a threat coming and sought to protect you, severing your faith in your own memories. I had to help you to remember, and your power did the rest.’</p><p>‘But, why that particular poem?’ asked Sarah.</p><p>‘The Owl and the Pussycat? Just a hunch. The book held its own aura so I figured you'd find your trigger within its pages.’</p><p>‘Okay… makes sense, guess. So what’s his deal?’ she indicated Oberon who was happily guzzling down his meal.</p><p>‘Father? Oh he’s under a spell I think.’ smirked Jareth. ‘All faith systems create magical nexus points when they do things like build churches, or imbue a place with a blessing. Once it is holy ground, if you perform magic in that place of a kind to different to the source, it can poison the caster. My father is what you might call drunk on an overdose of Christian Faith. He has no clue who he is right now. He’ll probably be like this for a few days at least. Which might be nice…’</p><p>He raised a glass of Champagne. </p><p>‘To Father, may you be oblivious for a week, at least…’</p><p>‘Jareth… how crass’ frowned Titania, but her lips had turned up in the ghost of a smile.</p><p>‘Yes, Oberon can be single minded, which is fine when he’s not trying to broker deals that force his only legitimate son into marriage. Sylvania’s parents lead an independent territory within the Underground, and I’m afraid Jareth’s father tried to use a royal wedding as leverage to bring them into the fold, as it were. It’s always bothered him that they were separate, and he saw an opportunity to annex their valuable kingdom.’</p><p>‘Right, so he deliberately kept us apart?’</p><p>‘Yes, he knew that his ultimatum would trigger Jareth's latent feelings for you, and he honestly thought that Sylvania’s charms would be enough to sway Jareth in her direction. It was greatly amusing to see her undermine herself at every turn.’</p><p>‘But, mama, how did you know that your plan would work? If I had not wished myself away...?’</p><p>Titania smiled as she heard the worry in his voice.</p><p>‘Let’s just say I had a plan if you had not found a way to get to the Champion before morning. Your wedding was scheduled for midday, so I still had enough time to intervene… Alfred was already prepped for your arrival.’</p><p>‘You were hinging a lot on Sarah's willingness to enter into matrimony at the drop of a hat. What if she had not been so?’</p><p>Sarah was really interested in that answer too.</p><p>‘Well, it was evident that her excursions to the Underground had sealed your bond, and since she’d created her very own fantasy-scape just for the pair you…’ Titania gave a soft, self satisfied smile, her eyes moving to her new daughter </p><p>‘Consider it an <em>educated</em> guess.’</p><p>Sarah flushed, and Jareth squeezed her hand, a genuinely happy smile curving its way across his mouth.</p><p>‘Alright, so what now?’ she asked.</p><p>‘Now, we celebrate. And tomorrow, we plan your move to the Underground.’ said Jareth as he poured himself another glass of champagne and offered some to Sarah. She shook her head.</p><p>‘Oh. Yes. How soon will that happen?’ she asked, and he could see that it wasn’t something she had really thought through.</p><p>‘Second thoughts, my love?’ he breathed into her ear, hot and tingling against her skin.</p><p>‘Of course not,’ she hissed back at him, ‘I’m just not looking forward to explaining this to my family. They will not understand.’</p><p>‘Oh, I’d give Oberon a little time to get used to the idea first, a couple of months at least…’ Titania was saying in response, watching Arianne and Willoughby do an animated drunken jig in the middle of the patio area. An Orchestra had appeared out of nowhere, playing something fast and Italian.</p><p>‘Oh…?’</p><p>‘And I would like to prepare the castle to receive its new mistress. As you know, Sylvania did a lot to it that I’m sure is not to your taste. It’s definitely not to mine… say, three months?’</p><p>‘And I’m sure the Faculty will need some notice of losing one of its prized members.’ said Alfred Jones, leaning toward her. ‘You will not be easy to replace, my dear.’</p><p>‘Right…’</p><p>‘There's no need to give up your career, Precious thing…’ said Jareth, frowning at the look of horror that clouded her features then. ‘It will be a challenge to balance the responsibilities of a queen and work full time in the Above too, but you may pass between worlds at will, it would seem, and it’s not a decision you need to make any time soon…’</p><p>Sarah sat back in her chair with a haunted look, the mere ghost of a smile playing on the edges of her lips as she fiddled with her ring. </p><p>‘Really? That is a relief. Honestly, I was so focused on you that I buried those thoughts…’</p><p>Jareth took her hand in his and kissed it.</p><p>‘I still can’t believe you were prepared to give everything up for <em>me</em>, Sarah.’ he whispered into her skin.</p><p>‘I was, wasn’t I?’ A smile spread across her face as Jareth gazed into her eyes, enraptured. ‘The Feminist in me is still in shock.’</p><p>She giggled.</p><p>‘Nah, that’s totally you, Dr Wills…’ Arianne said as she hunched down in the space between Sarah and Titania, slightly out of breath. ‘Hopeless romantic as you are, I doubt you could resist being the hero of your own story. Independent and headstrong to a fault.’</p><p>‘Out of the mouths of babes...’ smiled Titania, earning herself an scowl from Arianne. She tittered at the young woman.</p><p>‘I’ve just explained everything to Willoughby and he thinks it’s the most romantic and ‘boss’ thing he’s ever heard of. The whole magic thing is still beyond him but he’s very happy for you.’</p><p>They all glanced toward a Willoughby who was currently ‘cutting shapes’ on the dance floor. He winked at them and twirled as he dropped into the splits, making them laugh as he winced.</p><p>‘So you and Willoughby, ey? Can’t say I’m surprised…’ she gave Arianne a self satisfied smirk.</p><p>‘Yeah, dude is a riot, if a complete slut. Let’s just say he wore me down. I don’t see it lasting beyond the semester, but we will see.’</p><p>She smiled then joined Willoughby on the dance floor again.</p><p>A familiar tune started and Sarah turned to Jareth with a frown, as he stood, holding his hand out to her.</p><p>‘May I have this dance?’ he asked and she slipped her fingers over his. A zing of electricity passed between them as she realised he wasn’t wearing his gloves again.</p><p>‘You may.’</p><p>Titania and Alfred joined them a minute later, as they did a turn around the dance floor.</p><p>‘I recognise this music.’ frowned Sarah, as she looked into his very beautiful face. Then a memory came back to her of doing exactly the same thing inside a dream…</p><p>‘You should. We danced to it once before.’ he smiled his pointy smile, and she had a memory of him dressed much more formally, masks and glitter everywhere, and so many people dancing around them. Even then, she’d only had eyes for him.</p><p>‘Oh…’</p><p>Suddenly, his lips were on hers, and magic sizzled through her skin as he pulled her close.</p><p>The scent of salt air invaded her senses, but all that existed was his warm, enticing kiss as she lost herself in that moment.</p><p>~&amp;~ ~&amp;~ ~&amp;~</p><p>
  <em>They pulled apart and she looked around, the moon winking down at her happily as waves crashed against the shore.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Jareth smiled at her bemusement, and she realised he was dressed in the outfit he was meant to wear to his wedding. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>He looked incredible, dressed in white and silver, a long shimmering cape blowing in the wind behind him, his blonde hair and fair skin accented by silver too. A royal purple garland was slung across him, holding various medals and ribbons, and his brow held a glittering golden crown, his hair exploding from the centre of it.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>‘You look… a vision.’ she breathed as she stared at him.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>‘As do you.’ he said, his lips curled in amusement.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>She looked down at herself, realised she was wearing a lace wedding dress that fell to the floor, her delicate lace train gently fanning out behind her from what she assumed was a real diamond tiara that she felt on her head, her hair pinned up in what she figured was an elegant swirl of waves and a bun. Her dress was long sleeved, with pointed cuffs that covered her wrists, the wide V-neck exposing her elegant shoulders and showing more cleavage than she ever had in her life.</em>
</p><p><em>She really did feel like a princess. A </em>queen…<em></em></p><p>
  <em>‘Whenever I gaze on you, my wife, my heart misses several beats, I’m sure…’</em>
</p><p>
  <em> She smiled shyly as he pulled her back into his arms.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>‘Won’t they miss us?’ she asked as she looked up into the beautifully mismatched eyes of her new husband.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>‘Probably, but I thought we deserved a moment to ourselves, in a place that is special to us both… we can return whenever we like.’</em>
</p><p>
  <em>The music that was still playing grew louder then and she placed her hand on his shoulder.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>‘Not too soon.’ she whispered as she pressed her cheek against his.</em>
</p><p>So hand in hand, on the edge of the sand, they danced by the light of the moon…</p><p>The moon...</p><p>The <em>moon.<em></em></em></p><p>
  <em>
    <em>They danced by the light of the moon.</em>
  </em>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Aaah, can't believe it's over. I needed it to end though as I have too many things to write, and two more Lab fics, plus a load of OF waiting in the wings. One down, many to go. It's nice to finish a story, I just hope you enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed writing it. I do so love that poem &lt;3</p><p>Jareth smoking the pipe was inspired by watching the documentary of the making of Labyrinth. As they scroll across the set of the Escher room, David Bowie is seen standing, dressed in full makeup and in a dressing gown, on a piece jutting out, smoking a cigarette. It just looked so <em>him</em> I had to write a scene in homage to it.</p><p>Sorcha, is Gaelic for Sarah  and I used it because a comment by Ravyn525 on one of my other fics lamented that it isn't used as her nom de plume enough. It is really great and I quite agree.</p><p>The Reverend Dr Jones has a few different references for his character, I wonder if you worked them all out *evil cackling*.<br/>He's Titania's great grand nephew through her sister. </p><p>Titania's story in this fic is that she was the daughter of a widower who was saved by a faerie queen, many hundreds of years ago. They fell in love, and the Queen bore him a child, who became her heir, eventually marrying the son of the king of a neighboring kingdom, and unifying most of the Underground. Titania loved her father as much as her mother did, but he had other children, and Titania watched over them through each generation. Jareth can do magic in the Chapel because he's shielded by the faith of his mother's blood relative.</p><p>Poor Hoggle. Such a poignant moment. Sir Didymus and Ludo lost a brother that day when the Goblins decided to experiment with jet fuel. How they got their hands on it is a mystery. Ludo tends to Hoggle's gardens now and Didymus is part of the Royal Guard. He's buried under an obelisk in the centre of the Hedge Maze, where only the most beautiful of roses bloom.</p><p>Thank you all for reading, and I hope you love it enough to leave comments and kudos. Much love  - MRYGM</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
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